The present invention relates to forced air circulation through shoes, hoots and the like (footwear), employing a pomp which exhausts air from inside the shoe from pumping action created the by ambulatory movement of the wearer actuating a pomp by drawing air into the footwear through a permeable upper which replaces the air in the footwear with fresh air, as the interior air is exhausted by the pump.
Footwear of this type is often referred to as ‘ventilated’ footwear, for example see U.S. Pat. No. 5,505,010 issued to Fukuoka, which teaches a bellows type pump in the heel of a shoe that is actuated by a diaphragm in the shoe's heel during the wearer's movements which depresses the diaphragm that in torn compresses the bellows pump to exhaust air from the interior of the shoe. Another type of air circulation system, employing the wearer's movement for actuation, is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,845,417 issued to Reed et at that operates a pump located in the insole of a shoe when the wearer's weight is applied to the insole of the shoe. A similar device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,675,914 issued to Cintron. Also see U.S. Pat. No. 4,078,321 issued to Famolare, Jr. where cooling air is pumped through the port into and out of the network of canals by the expansion and contraction of a pump chamber in the insole as a wearer walks. Another similar device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,515,622 issued to Lee et al that exhausts air from the interior of a shoe as a wearer ambulates. U.S. Pat. No. 6,981,339 issued to Szczesuil, et al. teaches the use of mechanical pump, with a separate power source, to circulate air through out the interior of a shoe. In these and other patents, air is drawn into the shoe through its permeable top side (upper) or forced out of such permeable top side (upper) by a pump, to achieve cooling in the interior of the slice with fresh air entering the shoe.
With the exception of powered air pumps, e.g., battery powered, there is limited space available in a shoe to incorporate a wearer actuated pump. This structure limits the capacity of the pump to create air circulation in the interior of the shoe or the like. In addition, shoes and the like with such air circulation systems need to operate in various environmental conditions such as dusty roads, wet streets and/or sandy surfaces.
Cooling the interior of slices and the like, is desirable during outdoor activities, especially in the summer months, such as walking, mountain climbing, hiking, construction, and the like where the outside temperature may rise to more than 100 degrees F., often elevating the temperature inside a person's shoe to a 140 degrees F., causing the wearer's foot to sweat profusely. Once a wearer's foot begins to sweat, a wearer may develop athlete's foot blisters and foot odors.
According to this invention, it is an object to increase the pump capacity of a bellows type pump located in the heel of modified footwear having internal air circulation for cooling.
It is also an object to obtain positive activation of the bellows type pump located in the heel of a modified shoe equipped with the instant invention due to ambulatory movement of a wearer.
It is another object of the present invention is to provide lighter weight shoes while providing internal air circulation in the shoe by utilizing a cavity for the bellows type pump and a reciprocal piston.
It is also a object to use a ball as a reciprocal piston to avoid malfunctions and to allow such a piston to be easily replaced when wear on the piston requires it to be changed.
A further object is to employ a ball as a piston which is less likely to be entangled with environment and/or trip the wearer, such as depressable, fixed protrusions extending from the heel of footwear.
Still another object of the invention is a novel cooling system for footwear that can be disabled if desired, such as during cooler weather.